President Joe Biden clinched the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, NBC News projects, winning a majority of the necessary delegates and setting up what is expected to be a bitter, closely contested rematch with Donald Trump.
By clearing the field for the 81-year-old Biden, Democrats have gambled that he remains the party's best shot at defeating Trump one more time.
The general election campaign opens with Biden an underdog against an opponent who historians have ranked as the worst president in the nation's history.
He ran for the party's nomination in 1988 and again in 2008 and never made headway with rank-and-file Democratic voters.
Through sheer persistence, he is now finishing a presidential term while wrapping up his second party nomination in a row.
Persons:
Joe Biden, Donald J, Trump, Donald Trump, Biden, Govs, Gavin Newsom, Gretchen Whitmer, —, Liano Sharon, parry, Marc Morial, Sen, Claire McCaskill, Beau's, Barack Obama's, Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Kerry, Al Gore, Edward M, Kennedy
Organizations:
United, Former U.S, YMCA Allard Center, Democratic, NBC News, Biden, Trump, Democratic National Committee, parry Republicans, State, Union, National Urban League, Israel, Office
Locations:
Goffstown , New Hampshire, United States, Michigan, New Orleans, Israel, Gaza, South Carolina